The original Game Boy was a seminal system for Nintendo. It set the pace for the hand held market and did things prior hand helds of the time couldn’t. The Game Boy was different enough to warrant millions of units sold. This helped Nintendo solidify their place in this new market. Up to this point the portable market been dominated by Tiger Electronics single game pre-defined LCD games. Releases that were actually worse off than most Atari 2600 games from nearly a decade earlier. It is true the Game Boy’s screen was not suited all that well for action titles. This did not stop companies from releasing them – including games based on blockbuster movies like Batman.

It all started in cinema

Batman’s return to the movies in 1989 was a turning point for comic book movies. Though not many other licenses were able to recreate that same level of magic. The cast was just right, the story was great in most places and it was received quite well by fans. The following year, the Game Boy got its version of this movie, for better or for worse.

Batman on Game Boy stripped of identity

Obviously the graphics of the Game Boy were quite limited. Lettuce green screen that was prone to blurring when moving was really a hindrance. Many levels were loosely based on the movie with some cut scenes mixed in to help push the story forward. These cut scenes were used to continue that tie to the movie, the game was pretty decent. Sure it was no Batman on Sega Genesis or even NES though the Game Boy version was similar. Side scrolling platforming while still being unique enough to be its own game.

NES versus Game Boy

There are differences between the Game Boy version and the console version of this license. Such as the removal of physical confrontation with enemies. Batman on the Game Boy doesn’t punch the baddies. Here he resorts to shooting batarangs and other projectile weapons to eliminate the bad guys.

Batman the Video Game is not available in any digital form so if you want a copy you will have to hit Ebay, Amazon, or Gamestop for a physical copy. For more comic book based games check out our coverage.

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams